TY - JOUR
T1 - Pornography Use and Perceived Gender Norms Among Young Adolescents in Urban Poor Environments
T2 - A Cross-site Study
AU - Yu, Chunyan
AU - Kågesten, Anna E.
AU - De Meyer, Sara
AU - Moreau, Caroline
AU - van Reeuwijk, Miranda
AU - Lou, Chaohua
N1 - Funding Information:
Disclaimer: Publication of this supplement was supported by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Funding Information:
The Global Early Adolescent Study was supported by Johns Hopkins and World Health Organization as well as other organizations around the world. The authors thank all the researchers and students who participated in the present study and also the administrators and teachers in the target schools or communities who helped facilitating the survey. The authors also thank the GEAS Coordinate Center in Johns Hopkins University for providing the technical support.
Funding Information:
Specifically, this study was conducted with support from the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO- World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), a cosponsored program executed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [ OPP1125119 ], the Oak Foundation [ OCAY-17-649 ], and the Packard Foundation [ 2017-66517 ]. Support for each Global Early Adolescent Study site is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [ OPP1197258 ] and the United States Agency for International Development [ AID-OAA-A-15-00042 ] in Kinshasa, the Innovation-oriented Science and Technology Grant from Chinese National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation [ CX2017-05 ] in Shanghai, the fund for scientific research Flanders and the Flemish Ministry of Innovation, Public investment, Media and Poverty Reduction in Belgium, the National Secretary of Science and Technology SENESCYT of Ecuador in Cuenca, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [ OPP1178415 ] in Indonesia.
Funding Information:
Specifically, this study was conducted with support from the UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), a cosponsored program executed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [OPP1125119], the Oak Foundation [OCAY-17-649], and the Packard Foundation [2017-66517]. Support for each Global Early Adolescent Study site is provided by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [OPP1197258] and the United States Agency for International Development [AID-OAA-A-15-00042] in Kinshasa, the Innovation-oriented Science and Technology Grant from Chinese National Health Commission Key Laboratory of Reproduction Regulation [CX2017-05] in Shanghai, the fund for scientific research Flanders and the Flemish Ministry of Innovation, Public investment, Media and Poverty Reduction in Belgium, the National Secretary of Science and Technology SENESCYT of Ecuador in Cuenca, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [OPP1178415] in Indonesia.The Global Early Adolescent Study was supported by Johns Hopkins and World Health Organization as well as other organizations around the world. The authors thank all the researchers and students who participated in the present study and also the administrators and teachers in the target schools or communities who helped facilitating the survey. The authors also thank the GEAS Coordinate Center in Johns Hopkins University for providing the technical support. Disclaimer: Publication of this supplement was supported by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine
PY - 2021/7
Y1 - 2021/7
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of the study is to assess the prevalence of pornography use and its association with a range of perceived gender norms among adolescents aged 10–14 years across five urban poor settings globally. Methods: The study includes 9,250 adolescents aged 10–14 years from Belgium, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, and Indonesia, as part of the Global Early Adolescent Study. We examined the percentage of pornography use by sex and site and conducted multivariate logistic regressions to examine the relation between gender norm perceptions and pornography use, adjusting for individual, family, peer, and media exposures. Results: Ever-use of pornography ranged from 14.5% in Ecuador to 33.0% in Belgium and was more common among boys than girls. Overall, boys who perceived greater permissiveness about romantic relations, adolescents who engaged in such relations, and adolescents who assumed that their friends were sexually active had greater pornography exposure. Pornography use did not systematically correlate with unequal gender norms. Such correlations only exist among boys in two Asian sites, where a supportive school environment, more caregiver awareness, and/or neighborhood cohesion were related to less pornography use. Conclusions: Pornography use is a gendered experience that begins in early adolescence. Although factors of pornography use vary across the social context, the exposure to pornography has become a normative part of adolescent sexuality development. Young people, especially those from where sexuality remains taboo, need the ability to critically process information and avoid potential risks associated with pornographic gendered and sexual stereotypes, calling for comprehensive sexuality education programs to help them build the knowledge and confidence they need.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of the study is to assess the prevalence of pornography use and its association with a range of perceived gender norms among adolescents aged 10–14 years across five urban poor settings globally. Methods: The study includes 9,250 adolescents aged 10–14 years from Belgium, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, and Indonesia, as part of the Global Early Adolescent Study. We examined the percentage of pornography use by sex and site and conducted multivariate logistic regressions to examine the relation between gender norm perceptions and pornography use, adjusting for individual, family, peer, and media exposures. Results: Ever-use of pornography ranged from 14.5% in Ecuador to 33.0% in Belgium and was more common among boys than girls. Overall, boys who perceived greater permissiveness about romantic relations, adolescents who engaged in such relations, and adolescents who assumed that their friends were sexually active had greater pornography exposure. Pornography use did not systematically correlate with unequal gender norms. Such correlations only exist among boys in two Asian sites, where a supportive school environment, more caregiver awareness, and/or neighborhood cohesion were related to less pornography use. Conclusions: Pornography use is a gendered experience that begins in early adolescence. Although factors of pornography use vary across the social context, the exposure to pornography has become a normative part of adolescent sexuality development. Young people, especially those from where sexuality remains taboo, need the ability to critically process information and avoid potential risks associated with pornographic gendered and sexual stereotypes, calling for comprehensive sexuality education programs to help them build the knowledge and confidence they need.
KW - Adolescents
KW - Gender
KW - Gender norms
KW - Pornography
KW - Sexual health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85108798777&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85108798777&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.03.008
DO - 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.03.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 34217457
AN - SCOPUS:85108798777
SN - 1054-139X
VL - 69
SP - S31-S38
JO - Journal of Adolescent Health
JF - Journal of Adolescent Health
IS - 1
ER -